ABS to class Baoham Offshore newbuilds

Two newbuilds will bring total units in Baoham Offshore fleet to three

JUNE 16, 2015 — ABS is to class a drilling semisubmersible and a liftboat for Baoham Offshore (HK) Ltd. Baoham already has one ABS classed liftboats under construction and the two newbuilds will bring the number of units in its fleet to three. All are being built to Global Maritime designs.

According to Baoham Offshore General Manager Xu Jun, the company’s goal is to be a first mover in China.

“We are not building on speculation. On top of our first 300-ft harsh-environment ABS-classed liftboat (GM-J1000) already under construction, the addition of these units extends our ambition of building a flexible fleet,” he says. “We believe partnering with ABS will strengthen the foundation we are creating to build our fleet development program.”

“This award is a reflection of the solid reputation ABS has built as a classification society over more than 30 years in China,” says ABS Executive Vice President of Energy Project Development Ken Richardson. “We are particularly excited about working with Baoham Offshore as an emerging Chinese company.”

The GM-4E mid-water semisubmersible drilling unit will have both an eight-point mooring system and Class 3 dynamic positioning and will feature a variable deck load that exceeds 4,000 metric tons.

The GM-J1450 liftboat has a water depth capability of 80 m (~260 ft) and will be equipped with a 400-metric-ton deck crane.

“We are pleased to continue our working partnership with Baoham Offshore,” says Global Maritime Engineering Services Manager Mark Cooper. “We are excited to be introducing this flexible design on a groundbreaking project with not only an owner with a strong vision, but a very experienced class society.”

Singaporean engineering house Gulf Offshore will carry out detail engineering and production design.

The liftboat will be built at the PaxOcean shipyard in Zhoushan, China. A shipbuilder has not yet been selected for the semisubmersible unit.

Hydraquip Custom Systems Inc., which has produced more than 100 jacking systems over the past two decades, will provide the jacking system for the liftboat, while Gulf Offshore Pte Ltd will provide detail engineering and production design.